A jury in California yesterday awarded a 63-year-old woman $417 million after hearing that she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer after using J&J's talcum powder.

The company faces more than 5,000 lawsuits over its talc products. It has now lost four cases in courts totalling more than $300 million, according to Bloomberg.

"We are preparing for additional trials in the U.S. and we will continue to defend the safety of Johnson's Baby Powder," the company said in a statement, adding that science "supports the safety" of its products.

Jayne Conroy, a trial lawyer representing plaintiffs in other cases involving Johnson & Johnson, said the jury's verdict should serve as a warning to women throughout the United States.

"The powder can be a killer and J&J hid that from unsuspecting consumers. Make no mistake: these are not rogue jurors, but thoughtful citizens reacting to incontrovertible evidence of lies by a pharmaceutical giant," Conroy said in an email to ConsumerAffairs.

In May, Johnson & Johnson lost a $110 million case to another plaintiff, who developed cancer after using the company's talcum products for four decades.

Monday's case was the first to be heard by a California jury. The jurors considered the evidence for more than two days after a three-week trial.

The plaintiff in the case, Eva Echeverria, charged that she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in April 2007 and said she had used Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder and Shower to Shower products since the 1950s.

Her lawyer commented "There's a problem all over the country with women using talcum powder on daily basis for 10, 20, 30, 40 years."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that scientists have raised the possibility of a link between talcum powders and ovarian cancer since the 1960s but says the findings have not been entirely conclusive.

Johnson and Johnson, for its part, vows to appeal and fight all the lawsuits.